The Chagrin Falls pumpkin roll aims for the silver screen

CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio - When the eighth annual Chagrin Documentary Film Festival rolls in to town Oct. 4-8 with a broad spectrum of domestic and international films, comedies and tragedies, at least one entry will be home grown.

"Grove Hill: A True Story," is a short 20-minute documentary on the history, traditions and controversy surrounding the Chagrin Falls High School prank that has been occurring in late October for the past 50 years. It is a tradition that both angers and delights residents throughout the village and adjacent communities.

Despite the apparent lawlessness of the evening when a dump truck drops a load of pumpkins pilfered from numerous residential Halloween displays at the top of Grove Hill, and teens arrive with sleds to ride down the slippery, gooey, steep city street on fast-moving, out-of-control sleds, toboggans and even kayaks, the tradition continues.

"Love it or hate it, the roll is something unique to our town," said Molly Gebler, executive director of the Chagrin Valley Chamber of Commerce. "I wanted to create the film to spark community interest in the film festival. Here, we have this top-notch festival that brings in people from many countries. The festival is recognized all over the world. Yet, many locals are unaware of it."

Gebler is the director and co-producer of the film along with R43 Limited, a film company that happened to be working late one night in its Grove Hill office when the pumpkin roll exploded in the street in front of them a few years ago.

"It was 90 minutes of mayhem," Sean McCreary said. "Billy Thomas, our company president witnessed it and we thought it would fun to film. The next year we missed it, because it's secretive and spontaneous. We thought we knew when it would happen, but the weather changed the date. Two years ago, we got the heads-up, had our crew ready and in position to film it."

"We don't take sides in the controversy," Gebler said. "We tried to present all of the different viewpoints. We dug into the area's archives and interviewed those who have taken part over the years. We even filmed the cleanup effort of the street that doesn't get finished until close to dawn."

Molly Gebler stands at the top of Grove HIll to promote her film about the pumpkin roll.Courtesy of Hotcards

Gebler said she attended Lake Catholic High School and was not eligible to take part in the roll when she was a teen. However, she admitted to being a spectator of the event when one of her daughters participated.

There are rules to it, according to Gebler. Everyone is sworn to secrecy. Pumpkins have to be acquired and stored before the event. Someone with a truck has to drive hundreds of pumpkins there and be willing to receive a citation and fine for dumping from the police, who then close the street to traffic, for safety reasons. Only Chagrin Falls High School juniors and seniors are permitted to participate.

The residents are divided over how the pumpkins are gathered, according to Gebler. She said some call it theft, while others set pumpkins out with notes that say 'take me to the roll.' The lines are as blurred as the markings in the dark street as it is covered in smashed pumpkins.

"The film is surprisingly touching at the end," McCreary said. "It's a real story with real people, and those are the best stories. It works as a documentary."

For R43, the film was an opportunity for the group to have creative and production control over a project, according to McCreary. R43 creates and produces commercials, industrial films and videos for companies. Thomas edited the pumpkin roll film and most of the firm donated their time and talents to the project, including Stacy Magee, Brandon Hoskinson and Alex Tang.

The film will be shown 11 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 7 in a block of three other shorts at Chagrin Valley Little Theatre, 40 River St. Admission is $10. One of those, "The Wenis Report," is a four-minute, man in the street "mockumentary" of broadcast news, which Gebler directed along with Theo Hawk, an 11-year-old Chagrin Falls Intermediate School student.

A free outdoor screening of "Grove Hill" will be held 7 p.m., Friday, Oct. 3 in Riverside Park with an alternate rain location of Township Hall. Those indoor "insurance" seats are on sale for $15. Contact chagrinfilmfest.org or 440-247-1591.